Razor blade sharpener



RAZOR BLADE SHARFENER Filed July 16. 1957 Oct. 28, 1958 2 TIGHL IN VEN TOR. FRANK E. JOHNSTON rromvsx RAZOR IlLADE SHARPENER Frank E. Johnston, s... Leandro, Calif. Application July 16, 1957, Serial No. 672,202

1 Claim. (151-161 The invention, in general, relates to honing devices and more particularly relates to a rotary type sharpener especially suitable for the sharpening of safety razor blades.

While there have heretofore been advised a number and variety of a safety razor blade sharpening means, these prior devices are inadequate, in the main, in affording effective pressure on the blade edges during the sharpening operation.

As a result, most, of the prior arthoning devices do not provide smooth sharpened edges throughout the lengths of the blade edges and often the blades honed by such prior devices have ragged or serrated edgesthat render the same unsatisfactory for use. In addition, many of the prior blade sharpeners are of complex and costly construction which makes them prohibitive for the average family to employ.

"Thepre'sent invention isdir'etedto'the provision of an improved safety razor blade sharpener which obviates the disadvantages encountered withi the use of prior honing devices and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and to maintain.

A primary object of my invention is to provide an improved razor blade sharpener which incorporates means for presenting the edges of blades at the proper angle for most efficient sharpening and which requires no delicate adjustment to effect the proper degree of sharpening blade edges.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved razor blade sharpener of the indicated nature which is additionally characterized by its facility of use not only in the sharpening operation but also in the placement and removal of blades in and from bladesharpening position.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved razor blade sharpener of the aforementioned character which has a minimum of parts and which can be operated with facility by any person.

Other objects of the invention, together with some of the advantageous features thereof, will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood however, that I am not to be limited to the precise embodiment shown, nor to the precise arrangement of the various parts thereof, as my invention, as defined in the appended claim, can be embodied in a variety and plurality of forms.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side sectional elevational view of a preferred embodiment of my invention, this view being taken on the line 11 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a front sectional elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, this view being taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional detail of the preferred embodiment of the invention, taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Stflt8 Paten a 2,857,718 Patented Oct. 28, 1958 ice- Fig. 5 is a front sectional view, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1. r

In its preferred forms the improved razor blade sharpener of my present invention preferably comprises a cylindrical body having an inner wall constituting a hone, a resilient pad for holding a razor blade in flexed contact with said inner wall, means exerting pressure on said pad to maintain 2. held razor blade against said inner wall under pressure, together with means for rotating said pad with held blade while under pressure about the inner wall of said cylindrical body, and means for lifting said pad to effect release of a blade after a sharpening operation.

As particularly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the annexed drawings, my improved safety razor blade sharpener, which is designated generally by the reference numeral 11, preferably includes a cylindrical body 12 which preferably is pre-cast from. a suitable plastic material of honing qualities and which is open at the front and closed at the rear. Mounted centrally of the cylindrical body 12 is a fixed longitudinally extending shaft 13 which extends through a centrally located hole in the rear of the body and which is threaded for the reception of a nut 14 bearing against a suitable washer 15 to hold the shaft 13 rigid. As shown, therear wall of body 12 is conveniently recessed or counter-sunk to accommodate the nut 14 and washer 15 and thereby permit the mounting of body 12 on a'flat surface such as the rear flat wall of a flexed contact with the inneriwallof the' cylindrical body and for*e'x'ertingan appreciable pressure upon the blade so held. To this end, I mount a sleeve bearing 16 on the longitudinally extending shaft 13; the bearing 16 being fashioned with spaced passages 17 and 18, arranged on opposite sides of shaft 13, for passing a pair of transverse shafts 19 and 19 which pierce openings 20 and 21 provided in a plate 22; the plate being formed with talons 22a thereon for gripping a resilient pad 23, preferably fabricated of rubber and of slightly less radius than the radius of the inner wall of body 12. Coiled about each of the transverse shafts 19 and 19 is a relatively heavy spring 24 which urge the resilient pad 23 forcibly toward the inner wall of the cylindrical body 12. The pad 23, being fabricated of rubber, serves to yieldably hold a safety razor blade 25 of the conventional type which is formed with a series of openings therein, not shown, through which portions of the rubber pad 28 protrude and thus effect an attachment between the blade and the pad. Due to the pressure exerted by the springs 24, the blade is flexed to an arcuate state with its edges in close contact with the inner wall of body 12.

In order to move the blade 25 to and fro along the inner honing wall of the cylindrical body 12 and thereby sharpen effectively the edges of the blade, I conveniently provide a crank having a handle 26 which is secured by means of a rivet-bolt 26a which is riveted to an extension 26b of the plate 22. By moving the handle 26 in a clockwise or a counter-clockwise direction, the entire unitary structure consisting of the bearing 16, the transverse shafts 19 and 19, the plate 22, the pad 23 and the held blade 25 may be rotated about the inner wall of the cylindrical body 12, or in arcuate paths short of the entire inner periphery of the cylindrical body, and by such movement of the stated parts the edges of the razor blade 25 are sharpened by contact with the honing inner wall of body 12. In this operation, the blade 25 is forced under the pressure of the springs 24 into engagement and held in engagement with the inner wall of body 12 under proper flexure of the blade itself to present the blade edges at the proper angle in relation to such inner wall to afiord the most effective sharpening of the blade edges. 1

In order to maintain the cylindrical body rigid for such I 4 neath the resilient pad 23 in blade sharpening position,

as well as to facilitate the removal of the blade from the body 12 after it has been sharpened. To this end, I provide a lever 31 which conveniently is pivotally mounted on the transverse shafts 19 and 19' by means of a pivot pin 32 which pierces these shafts adjacent their outer ends as well as the sides of the lever 31, and I mount a fulcrum element 33 conveniently on the longitudinal shaft 13 adjacent to the front of the body 12 upon which the lever 31 can be fulcrumed. The outer end of the lever 31 conveniently is flattened to afford a thumb rest 34 for use in manipulating the lever. By depressing lever 31 against the fulcrum element 33, the shafts 19 and 19, as well as the plate 22 and resilient pad 23, are raised against the influence of the springs 24 which are confined between bearing 16 and the plate 22. To effect this lifting action conveniently, the fore-finger can be placed under the handle 26 and the thumb placed on the thumb rest 34 of lever 31, and then the thumb and fore-finger are squeezed to fulcrum the lever above element 33, thus lifting pad 23 and permitting removal of a sharpened blade and the 19 in vertical position. In order to confine the lever 31 in position, a T-element 35 is formed integral with the fulcrum 33; the T-element serving to prevent lateral displacement of the lever see Fig. 5.

It is to be understood that the appended claim is to be accorded a range of equivalents commensurate in scope with the advance made over the prior art.

I claim:

In a safety razor blade sharpener, a cylindrical body open at one end and having an inner honing surface, a fixed shaft secured within said body centrally thereof, a sleeve mounted for rotation on said fixed shaft; said sleeve having a pair of passages therethrough arranged in spaced relationship and on opposite sides of said fixed shaft, a

' pair of transversely extending shafts projecting through said passages of said sleeve, a resilient pad retained on said transversely extending shafts; said pad being adapted to hold a razor blade with a cutting edge thereof in close proximity to said inner honing surface of said body, a pair of springs coiled about said transversely extending shafts and confined between said sleeve and said pad for urging said pad outwardly toward said inner honing surface, means for rotating said sleeve as well as said transversely extending shafts and said pad in both directions of rotation about said fixed shaft to cause the edges of a blade held by said pad to movably engage said honing surface under pressure and thereby sharpen the blade edges, and means for raising and lowering said pad to permit removal of a sharpened blade from and placement of a blade in blade-sharpening position through the open end of said body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,909,661 Cobb May 16, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 660,768 Great Britain Nov. 14, 1951 

